Mycobacterial infections are considered to a serious challenge of medicine, and the emergence of MDR and XDR tuberculosis is a serious public health problem. Tuberculosis can cause high morbidity and mortality around the world, particularly in developing countries. The emergence of drug-resistant Mycobacterium infection following limited therapeutic technologies coupled with the serious worldwide tuberculosis epidemic has adversely affected control programs, thus necessitating the study of the role bacteriophages in the treatment of mycobacterial infection. Bacteriophages are viruses that are isolated from several ecological specimens and do not exert adverse effects on patients. Phage therapy can be considered as a significant alternative to antibiotics for treating MDR and XDR mycobacterial infections. The useful ability of bacteriophages to kill Mycobacterium spp has been explored by numerous research studies that have attempted to investigate the phage therapy as a novel therapeutic/diagnosis approach to mycobacterial infections. However, there are restricted data about phage therapy for treating mycobacterial infections. This review presents comprehensive data about phage therapy in the treatment of mycobacterial infection, specifically tuberculosis disease.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

This study aimed to explore the prevalence, antimicrobial resistance levels, and serotype distribution of S. pneumoniae in the Middle East region. We conducted a systematic literature review by searching several databases including PubMed, ISI Web of Science, Scopus, Google scholar through 2000 to 2017 by using the following keywords: “Streptococcus pneumoniae”, “pneumococcus”, “serotype”, “Antibiotic resistance,” and “Middle East “in combination with “OR” and “AND” Boolean Operators within Title/Abstract/Keywords fields. We used a random-effects model to calculate the pooled prevalence and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for binomial variables. All statistical analyses were done using STATA 12.0 (STATA Corp, College Station, TX). We found 73 articles appropriate, on the word of inclusion and exclusion criteria, for inclusion in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The result revealed that the pooled prevalence of S. pneumoniae carriage was 35% (95% CI: 26-44%). The most frequent pneumococcal serotypes were19, 19F, 6, 23 and 6A/B which were found in 19%,12%, 11%, 10% and 10% of isolates respectively. Pneumococcal resistance reported for azithromycin, cefaclor, clarithromycin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, and tetracycline were 24%, 37%, 23%, 11%, 26%, and 29% respectively, while vancomycin resistance was not reported. The highest resistant prevalence was reported against co-trimoxazole (Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole). For this antibiotic, a pooled resistance prevalence of 43% was identified. The present review demonstrates that the prevalence of S. pneumoniae carriage was high in the Middle East region. Surveillance must be continued in this region to evaluate. The resistance pattern and serotype distribution.

Background and Objectives: Staphylococcus aureus is a main human pathogen that causes a variety of chronic to persistent infections. Across the diverse factors of pathogenesis in bacteria, Toxin-Antitoxin (TA) systems can be considered as an antibacterial target due to their involvement in cellular physiology counting stress responses. Here, the expression of TA system genes and ClpP protease was investigated under the thermal and oxidative conditions in S. aureus strains. Materials and Methods: The colony-forming unit (CFU) was used to determine the effects of thermal and oxidative stresses on bacterial survival. Moreover, the expressions of TA system genes in S. aureus strains were evaluated 30 min and 1 h after thermal and oxidative stresses, respectively, by quantitative reverse transcriptase real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Results: The cell viability was constant across thermal stress while oxidative stress induction showed a significantly decrease in the growth of Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strain. Based on the qRT-PCR results, the expression of mazF gene increased under both thermal and oxidative stresses in the MRSA strain. Conclusion: A putative TA system (namely immA/irrA) most likely has a role under the stress condition of S. aureus. The MRSA strain responds to stress by shifting the expression level of TA genes that has diverse effects on the survival of the pathogen due to the stress conditions. The TA systems may be introduced as potential targets for antibacterial treatment.

BackgroundStaphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen causing chronic to persistent infections. Amongst diverse factors of pathogenesis in bacteria, toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems have a potential to be presented as an antibacterial target due to their participation in cell physiology including stress responses. This study was conducted to determine the effects of thermal and oxidative stresses on expression of type II Toxin/Antitoxin systems and ClpP protease in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).Materials/methodsExpression of type II TA genes (mazF, relE1, relE2 and immA) and clpP gene in MRSA strain were evaluated following thermal and oxidative stresses by qRT-PCR techniques.ResultsThe cell viability was constant across thermal stress, whereas oxidative stress induction resulted in a significant reduction in the growth of MRSA strain. The result of RT-qPCR revealed that TA genes were expressed in stress conditions and expression of mazF gene increased under both thermal and oxidative stresses in MRSA strain.ConclusionsBased on our results, the MRSA strain responded to stress by altering the expression level of TA genes. In overall, TA system could be an antibacterial target in S. aureus that can revitalize the research on TA systems in this pathogen.

Introduction Acinetobacter baumannii antimicrobial resistance is a public health concern in developing and developed countries, especially in hospital setting. Understanding the antibiotic resistance profile can be helpful in providing better guidelines for prescription of appropriate antibiotics, reduction of antibiotic resistance, and introducing new and effective treatment options. Method Using the PRISMA guidelines, databases of PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched systematically from January 1, 2000 to January 1, 2018. All statistical analyses were carried out via Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Software Version 2.0 (Biostat, Englewood, NJ). Depending on the heterogeneity test, either random or fix effect models were used for determining the pooled prevalence of drug resistance. Result A total of 150 studies were included from 41 countries of six different WHO regional offices worldwide. The highest and the lowest rate of resistance were observed for cefotaxim (99%, 95% CI: 95-99.9) in Africa and for colistin (1.1%, 95% CI: 0.3-4.5) in Western Pacific, respectively. Lebanon (17.5%, 95% CI: 16-19) and China (12%, 95% CI: 3.5-32.5) had the highest and Germany (0.2%, 95% CI: 0-2.5) had the lowest rate of resistance for colistin. Conclusion Our analysis showed that prevalence and rate of increased colistin resistance in South-East Asia and Eastern Mediterranean countries are higher than other regions of the world. Therefore, establishment of appropriate antibiotic usage guidelines should be essential in these countries.